Black-breasted Pipefish
Corythoichthys nigripectus
- Usual depth2–25 m
- Water temperature26–29 °C
- Best monthsFebruary and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Kai Squires, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Corythoichthys nigripectus is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea, Indonesia and the Philippines to the Society Islands, Guam and New Caledonia. It inhabits coral reefs and algae patches at depths of 5–30 metres (16–98 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 11 centimetres (4.3 in). This species is both monogamous and ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Corythoichthys nigripectus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2 records
- February: 7 records
- March: 1 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 5 records
- June: 3 records
- July: 3 records
- August: 1 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 3 records
- November: 11 records
- December: 4 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 2–25 m · Deepest record: 56 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–29 °C
Photos
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) Debra Baker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Black-breasted Pipefish, Red Sea Pipefish
Names in 3 more languages
- German
- Schwarzbrust-Seenadel
- French
- Syngnathe à poitrine noire
- Simplified Chinese
- 黑胸冠海龍, 黑胸冠海龙
Similar species
Banded PipefishCorythoichthys flavofasciatus
Bloodspot PipefishCorythoichthys haematopterus
Banded pipefishCorythoichthys intestinalis
Brown-banded PipefishCorythoichthys amplexus
Benedetto's PipefishCorythoichthys benedetto
Reticulated PipefishCorythoichthys conspicillatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 49 open-data records from 1959 to 1993.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
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